About Renée

An educator for four decades, Dr. Westlake taught all levels of music and retired in 2015 as the Fine Arts Supervisor for a school district in Bozeman, Montana. She mentors young educators, trains administrators and teachers in student leadership development, presents coursework on various aspects of rigor and curriculum, provides consultation, teaches private music lessons, played in a local symphony orchestra for many years, and continues to perform chamber music.

Renée Westlake received her BA in Music Education, ME in Curriculum and Instruction, and Ed.D in Educational Leadership. Further training includes an Administrative Endorsement, Carl Orff Institute of Music certification, World Music Drumming Curriculum certification, and flute master classes with Jean Pierre Rampal, Julius Baker, James Pellerite, James Galway and Carol Wincenc.

Renée currently serves as president of Montana Chamber Music and oversees one of the organization’s outreach programs. She is active as president of the local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international education honorary dedicated to promoting rigorous and relevant instruction for children of all ages. Renée serves as treasurer on the founding board of Montana Center for the Arts, and is a Community Ambassador and on the Governance Oversight Committee for the Bozeman Symphony. She is employed as a Field Supervisor for student teachers at Montana State University and sits on a graduate committee for a current doctoral candidate. Renée served on the Governor’s Montana Arts Council as a member of the executive committee, chair of the strategic planning committee, member of the education committee, participated on numerous grant assessment panels, and assisted with the Poet Laureate and Governor’s Award for the Arts. She has been active in NAfME: The National Association for Music Education, and has been President of the Northwest Division of NAfME, has served on the National Executive Board of NAfME, State President of the Montana Music Educators Association, President of the Montana General Music Teachers Association, District Festivals Chair, and State Evaluations Chair. Renée has been active as a past board member and officer for the Montana Ballet Company, Bozeman Symphony, Montana Youth Symphony, Arts Without Boundaries, and was a staff member at the Yellowstone Summer Music Camp in Powell, Wyoming for many years, a music camp for underserved rural students.

Renée has finished a teaching methodology, Growing Leadership: Mentoring Students in Schools, a practical guide to developing student leadership in the classroom.

She completed filming for a collaborative NAfME publication and project on building relationships with students through rigorous music education. Dr. Westlake has been an active clinician in schools and at education conferences in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, and is an adjudicator at district and state music festivals.

Renée has received numerous honors, including NAfME's Lowell Mason Fellow, Global Forum for Education and Learning’s Excellence in Education Award, the Montana State University Centennial Alumni Award, Montana Music Educators Association Leadership Award, National Public Radio's Excellence in Teaching Award, Music Educators Journal Top Teachers in the 50 States Award, National Federation of Interscholastic Music Association's Regional Educator of the Year, and NAfME Distinguished Service for Lifetime Achievement in Music Education. She has co-authored three NAfME publications, and has published articles in the official publications of the Montana, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Alaska Music Education Association.

Dr. Westlake is married to a grain farmer in Montana and has two grown daughters, two sons-in-law, one granddaughter and one grandson ~ all of whom are participants in or consumers of the arts.